Colour news
FestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art formFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom鈥檚 Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For SaleFestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art formFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom鈥檚 Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For Sale
Rang

Dyes

Colour that dissolves and soaks into cloth, leather, hair and food.

FamilyRedOrangeYellowGreenTurquoiseBluePurplePinkBrownWhiteGreyBlackGold
KindBasic colourNamed shadePigmentDyeColour named from natureTraditional colourNational or team colourHeraldic colourStandard colourScreen colour
Made fromMineral or earthPlantAnimalSyntheticLight only (no pigment)
Yellow Turmeric A golden yellow dye and spice from the rhizome of a tropical plantColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5 Blue Woad A blue dye once vital to Europe's textile trade, made from the leaves of a flowering plantDye 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +3 Blue Indigo A deep blue dye from plants, now mostly made synthetically and known for colouring denimDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5 Red Rubia A group of plants whose roots once dyed cloth and paint a lasting redColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5 Blue Haematoxylin A natural dye from logwood, best known for staining cell nuclei in histologyDye 路 馃嚨馃嚟 Philippines Purple and violet Logwood A tree whose wood yields a dye once vital for textiles and scienceColour named from nature 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +3 Orange Annatto A yellow-orange dye and flavour from the seeds of the achiote treeDye 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +5 Red Henna丨賽賳賻賾丕亍 A reddish dye from the henna plant, used for body art and hair since ancient timesColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5 Brown Catechu A brown plant extract used as a dye, tannin, and preservativeColour named from nature 路 馃嚡馃嚨 Japan +2 #E49B0F Gamboge A strong yellow pigment tapped from Southeast Asian treesPigment 路 馃嚢馃嚟 Cambodia +5 Red Kumkum A red powder made from turmeric and lime, used for forehead marks in IndiaDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India Red Brazilin A red dye from brazilwood and sappanwood, used in textiles and paints since the Middle AgesDye 路 馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil +4 #A91101 Turkey red A lasting bright red dye for cotton, made from madder root by a complex processNamed shade 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey +4 Red Dragon's blood A deep red resin from several plants, used as pigment, dye and varnish since ancient timesColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +3 Brown Juglone A plant compound that gives deep brown-orange colour to cloth, ink and foodPigment Yellow Anthoxanthin A group of plant pigments ranging from white to yellow, used in foods and dyesPigment Purple and violet Orcein A reddish dye made from lichens, changing colour with acidityDye 路 馃嚦馃嚧 Norway +4 #E32636 Alizarin crimson A deep red with blue undertones, once made from madder rootsNamed shade 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt Red Cudbear A red dye once made from a lichen found on rocks in upland EuropeDye 路 馃嚦馃嚧 Norway +3 Red Santalin Red pigments obtained from the wood of the red sandalwood treePigment Yellow Saffron夭毓賮乇丕賳 A golden-yellow colour from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus flowerColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚪 Iran +5 Yellow Safflower A thistle-like plant whose petals yield red and yellow dyesColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +4 Brown Walnut A brown dye and ink made from the husk of the walnut fruitColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚪 Iran +5 Orange Annatto A natural orange-red dye from the seeds of a tropical shrubColour named from nature 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +5 Red Tormentil red A red dye for leather made from the root of the tormentil plantDye 路 馃嚭馃嚘 Ukraine Blue Butterfly pea blue A vivid blue from the butterfly pea flower, used in Asian food and drinkColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚛 Indonesia +5 Yellow Tansy yellow A golden-yellow dye from the flowers of the tansy plantColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland Blue Indigofera tinctoria A shrub whose leaves yield natural indigo dyeColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5 Red Lycopene The deep red pigment found in tomatoes and many red fruitsPigment 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States +2 Red Rose madder A red dye and pigment from the roots of a climbing plantDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +4 Red Brazilwood redybyrapytanga A deep orange-red dye from the heartwood of Brazil鈥檚 national treeDye 路 馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil +1 Yellow Lutein A yellow-orange plant pigment used in food and supplementsPigment 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States +2 Brown Catechu A reddish-brown dye and extract from the heartwood of Senegalia catechuDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +3 Yellow Dyer's greenweed A yellow dye plant with golden flowers, found across Europe and TurkeyColour named from nature 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey Red Dragon's blood (from Dracaena cinnabari) A deep red resin from the Socotra dragon tree, prized as a dye and medicineColour named from nature 路 馃嚲馃嚜 Yemen +1 Yellow Tagetes patula dye A golden yellow dye and spice made from French marigold flowersColour named from nature 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +3 Red Sappanwood A tropical Asian tree whose heartwood yields a red dye called brazilinColour named from nature 路 馃嚦馃嚨 Nepal +4 Orange Flavin mononucleotide An orange-red food colour and biomolecule made from vitamin B2Pigment 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States Yellow Weld A plant once prized for its bright yellow dyeDye 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +3 Yellow Quercitron A yellow dye once made from the inner bark of the black oak treeColour named from nature 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States +1 Red Alkanet A Mediterranean plant whose root gives a red dye used since ancient timesColour named from nature 路 馃嚭馃嚘 Ukraine +2 Yellow Cota tinctoria A daisy-like plant once used to make yellow and golden-orange dyesColour named from nature Yellow Dyer's saw-wort A European plant once used for its yellow dye from the leavesColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland +3 Red Betanin A red food dye made from beets and other plantsPigment Blue Indigofera suffruticosa A shrub from the Americas used to make indigo dye and Maya blue pigmentColour named from nature 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States +5 Yellow Cosmos sulphureus dye An orange-yellow dye from the flowers of the Cosmos sulphureus plantColour named from nature 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +5 Yellow Goldenseal A North American herb with a yellow root once used as a dyeColour named from nature 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States +1 Purple and violet Turnsole A blue-purple dye once prized for manuscripts and textilesDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +2
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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly palette

Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.